Will you like a "driverless car"?

We can read many stuff about driverless car which will be safer and accident free if everyone is travelling with this type of car and the computer and GPS system will ensure you the safest journey.
However, what is the fun of driving when computer takes over human's role in driving?

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We can read many stuff about driverless car which will be safer and accident free if everyone is travelling with this type of car and the computer and GPS system will ensure you the safest journey.
However, what is the fun of driving when computer takes over human's role in driving?

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If memory serves, 50 years ago, driving was fun, and, with the pedal on the metal a bit adventurous too.
Now, I would like a driverless car.
However, there is a maxim that the more complex you make something, the more likely it is that something will go wrong.
In a recent consumer reports missive, they lowered their ratings on most of the more complex electric and hybrid automobiles, mostly due to minor glitches in hardware and software whose cost(in time and money) of repair negated any savings derived from efficiency.

Long ago, a trusted mechanic offered this advice:
Never buy a car or truck during the first 2-3 years of the introduction of the new model.
................
That being said, it would be comfortable to climb into the truck, and say: "Take me to my cousin Bob's house."( a 6 hour drive) Then the truck would check the route, traffic conditions, etc... choose a route, and take me where I wanted to go while I dozed off. Then awaken me 10 minutes before the destination, make me a cup of coffee, and play an inspiring symphony while I came to consciousness, well rested and refreshed.

We can read many stuff about driverless car which will be safer and accident free if everyone is travelling with this type of car and the computer and GPS system will ensure you the safest journey.

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I would definitely like an autonomous self-driving car. Of course, I would have to be confident in its abilities first. Would its computer have a tendency to get confused? Would it be able to reliably detect pedestrians and bicyclists?

However, what is the fun of driving when computer takes over human's role in driving?

In all but the most socialist and paternalistic states, I expect it to remain legal to drive your own car if you want to. There are just too many manual-drive cars already on the road and it will be many decades (if ever) before they all disappear.

Sports cars will continue to be marketed for the foreseeable future on the basis of how much fun they are to drive.

But if self-driving cars really do reduce accidents significantly, and if most accidents continue to be the fault of human drivers, driving a car may eventually become very politically-incorrect. The media and politicians will vilify drivers and they will be shunned like smokers. Drivers might eventually be taxed into oblivion and severe restrictions placed on where and when driving is legal.

The thought of how many drivers deal with maintenance makes me shudder about cars which drive themselves.

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They'll know when they need maintenance and they'll drive themselves to the shop when the time comes. If you're lucky, they'll warn you beforehand so you're not sitting there like a dope while it happens.

(That would be a good excuse for your boss though: "My car needed an oil change and it wouldn't take no for an answer.")

There is not much "fun" in city commuter driving. It's a bore and wastes time. In the tube you can at least read.

We may end up with cars with driver and driverless options, the latter to be selected for city journeys in heavy traffic or where mandated by the city authorities.

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I agree. I would also add hazardous. Recently in my area I have seen people blow through stoplights at 60 mph and witnessed a number of accidents were drivers have refused to yield and seen many drivers driving without lights on after dusk. Last winter we had some icing on the roads and the ditches were littered with cars. Apparently, many people don't know how to drive in icy conditions. For all those who don't know, you don't slam on your brakes. There are a lot of idiots and careless drivers out there. A computer certainly couldn't do any worse than some of these clowns.

I think driver-less cars will be great. Riding in a driver-less car would become more like riding in a train. One could take time to observe and enjoy the scenery. It will also help many seniors who cannot drive and others who suffer from various medical disabilities like blindness. From what I have read, owners will have an option to use or not use the driver-less feature. And as I understand it, first generation driver-less cars may require human intervention under certain circumstances. The problem being, computers find it difficult to predict how human drivers in surrounding vehicles will behave.

If memory serves, 50 years ago, driving was fun, and, with the pedal on the metal a bit adventurous too.
Now, I would like a driverless car.
However, there is a maxim that the more complex you make something, the more likely it is that something will go wrong.
In a recent consumer reports missive, they lowered their ratings on most of the more complex electric and hybrid automobiles, mostly due to minor glitches in hardware and software whose cost(in time and money) of repair negated any savings derived from efficiency.

Long ago, a trusted mechanic offered this advice:
Never buy a car or truck during the first 2-3 years of the introduction of the new model.
................
That being said, it would be comfortable to climb into the truck, and say: "Take me to my cousin Bob's house."( a 6 hour drive) Then the truck would check the route, traffic conditions, etc... choose a route, and take me where I wanted to go while I dozed off. Then awaken me 10 minutes before the destination, make me a cup of coffee, and play an inspiring symphony while I came to consciousness, well rested and refreshed.

Click to expand...

Well, that would apply to any new technology. It's that old idiom about being on the bleeding edge. But to be fair, they are doing a lot of testing on these cars because the risks are huge. States will also need to change their laws before driver-less cars become a reality.

20 years ago, when coming down off the ridge--headed for town, I would see corn and bean fields. Now, I see a forest of house roofs, all alike, all with asphalt shingles which are good till the first hailstorm. "little boxes made of ticky tacky" built to last a generation(and proudly advertising r-14 walls---------hell, I went to r-38 to r-48 walls over 25 years ago). and built on prime flat farm land with topsoils which were up to 6 ft deep. No more food crops there, just crops of suburban children.

20 years ago, when coming down off the ridge--headed for town, I would see corn and bean fields. Now, I see a forest of house roofs, all alike, all with asphalt shingles which are good till the first hailstorm. "little boxes made of ticky tacky" built to last a generation(and proudly advertising r-14 walls---------hell, I went to r-38 to r-48 walls over 25 years ago). and built on prime flat farm land with topsoils which were up to 6 ft deep. No more food crops there, just crops of suburban children.